In an enterprise, it is generally necessary to manage articles (hereinafter may be referred to as “asset management articles” or merely “asset articles”) such as fixed asset articles, lease articles, rental articles and idle asset articles used in the enterprise. Therefore, stocktaking is performed several times in a year.
In the stocktaking, conditions as to individual asset articles are identified to manage each asset article unlike stocktaking for stock management (management of the number of the commodities) performed in a warehouse which stores commodities or a store which sells commodities. For example, an installation post (installation floor), an installation place, a user, use conditions (in no use or in use), stocktaking conditions (whether stocktaking has been performed or not), a stocktaking date and the like are identified as to the individual asset articles. In the stocktaking, conditions as to individual asset articles are identified to manage each asset article unlike stocktaking for stock management (management of the number of the commodities) performed in a warehouse where stores commodities or a store where sells commodities. For example, an installation post (installation floor), an installation place, a user, use conditions (in no use or in use), stocktaking conditions (whether stocktaking has been performed or not), a stocktaking date and the like are identified as to the individual asset articles.
Asset management articles may be considered fixtures used in an enterprise. These fixtures include displays, key boards and mice used in personal computers. Further included in these fixtures are such items as software, printers, scanners, copying machines, facsimiles, telephones, desks, chairs and bookshelves.
The stocktaking has heretofore been performed by manual works. In this case, a ledger such as a list of fixed asset article has been prepared in advance, and checking of the ledger with all the fixed asset articles has been performed to conduct the stocktaking.
Since not only such manual works take time and labor, but also the stocktaking tends to be concentrated at a specific season in a year, for example, the end of the year, however, there is a strong demand for efficiently performing the stocktaking.
In addition, in stocktaking using a paper-based ledger, for example, difficulties are encountered on application to management and/or retrieval of idle asset articles, and so a range making good use of the ledger has been limited.
Further, in the stocktaking by the manual works, there is a high possibility that personal mistakes such as mistakes in checking and mistakes in entry/posting to the ledger may occur. More specifically, a worker who performs stocktaking visually identifies an asset article subjected to the stocktaking, also visually identifies an item (registration column) according to the asset article in the ledger and then enters information regarding the stocktaking in this time to the registration column by hand. Accordingly, there is a possibility that the worker may mistake an item (registration column) to enter the information by a mistake in checking, and there is also a possibility that the worker may mistake the information itself to be entered to the item (registration column) by a mistake in entry/posting.
There is thus proposed an assets management system constructed by communicably connecting a host PC (PC: personal computer; hereinafter may be referred to as host” merely) and a mobile computer (handy terminal) to each other. In this assets management system, the host serves as a center of the system and has an assets management master database (hereinafter may be referred to as master database” merely) storing assets management master data that are information regarding asset management articles. The mobile computer is a portable terminal (portable information processing apparatus) used upon working such as actual stocktaking.
When this assets management system is adopted, bar codes with management numbers characteristic of individual asset articles (asset management articles) to be managed encoded are stuck in advance on the asset articles, respectively, and stocktaking information (for example, stocktaking conditions and stocktaking date) regarding the asset articles is registered in advance as the assets management master data correspondingly to the management numbers of the individual asset articles in the assets management master database.
In such an assets management system, after data for stocktaking in the same form as the assets management master data are sent from the assets management master database of the host to the mobile computer and registered as a database for stocktaking, a stocktaking work is started. A bar code reader (scanner) is connected to the mobile computer, and the bar code stuck on each asset management article is read out by the bar code reader upon a stocktaking work to input the encoded management number into the mobile computer.
The inputted management number is retrieved from the database for stocktaking registered in the mobile computer to update the stocktaking information regarding the asset management article to which the management number has been attached. The contents of the database for stocktaking updated in such a manner are sent to the host after completion of the stocktaking work so as to reflect them on the contents of the assets management master database.
The person in charge of stocktaking performs stocktaking using such an assets management system as described above, whereby there is no need to use any ledger, and a stocktaking work can be performed with ease without causing personal mistakes such as a mistake in checking and a mistake in entry/posting. In addition, since the information regarding the asset management articles is stored in the assets management master database, the management and/or retrieval of idle asset articles can be conducted with ease.
In the assets management system described above, when the data corresponding to the bar code (management number) read out by the bar code reader has not been registered in the database for stocktaking and the assets management master database, namely, an asset article not registered in the database for stocktaking and the assets management master database is retrieved during the stocktaking work, the person in charge of stocktaking makes memoranda of detailed information such as an equipment name, an installation post, an installation place, a user, use conditions, stocktaking conditions and a stocktaking date as to the asset article in addition to the bar code information (management number) stuck on the asset article and informs a responsible person of the assets management of the information at any time or collectively at the time the stocktaking has been completed. The responsible person of the assets management performs correction/new registration of the assets management master data on the basis of the information informed by the person in charge of stocktaking.
Accordingly, there is a possibility that personal mistakes such as a mistake in entry, a mistake in data entry and/or a mistake in posting may occur when the person in charge of stocktaking makes memoranda, or the responsible person of the assets management makes data entry/posting, and so correction/new registration of the assets management master data may not be correctly conducted. There is also a problem that the person in charge of stocktaking must make memoranda of detailed information of the asset article as described above to take labor for such a work.
With foregoing problems in view, the present invention has been made and has as its object the provision of an assets management system capable of correctly performing assets management by correctly and rapidly conducting updating or new registration to a master database when an asset article not existing in a specified database or master database is retrieved upon stocktaking of an asset article, and a terminal for assets management and an assets management apparatus.